Binh Minh Cooperative is a common home for households doing business in the seafood processing industry in Nghi Thuy Ward (Cua Lo Town). The name is new, but the members of the cooperative and the work they are doing are the traditional occupations of coastal people, which is the processing of fish sauce and shrimp paste. The product has now been recognized as a 3-star OCOP product and is widely welcomed by tourists.
The main role in the cooperative is played by the couple Mrs. Bui Thi Hang and Mr. Duong Van Hon - owners of Hang Hon seafood production and processing facility. Although over 60 years old, both of them are still the main workers, both producing and doing business. Both are also among the pioneers in the group when they are determined to keep their profession and get rich from it. The journey of building the family brand is associated with the development process of Cua Lo town.
Talking about seafood processing, Mr. Duong Van Hon said that his wife was a modern person and chose this profession to make a living for the family. Mr. Hon himself, before that, during the subsidy years, used to work at sea. Moreover, he was also the captain of a boat team at Tan Tien cooperative, with nearly 40 workers. Talking about this, Mr. Hon added: In the 80s, the captain was very big and powerful, because a cooperative only had 4 fleets, each team had 2 boats. I was only 25, 26 years old, but because I was the captain, everyone called me sir, very respectfully. Until the 90s, when the subsidy was abolished, the cooperative was dissolved, we were still attached to the seafaring profession, but it was really difficult to get rich with this profession. Not to mention, there were many dangers lurking on the river.
Mr. Hon's family's conversion to the seafaring profession coincided with the establishment of Cua Lo coastal town in 1994. This coincidence was not accidental but was within the couple's expectations when they "felt a change was coming": My wife and I had four sons. At that time, I went by boat, my wife did small business. If we only relied on this unstable income, we would not have the conditions to send our children to school. Our family also did not want our children to follow their father's river profession because they were afraid of danger. That is why, when the coastal town was established, we discussed changing our profession, switching to seafood processing to serve tourists. The actual conversion process did not encounter many difficulties, because the processing materials were available, and the experience in the profession was passed down from our grandparents. As long as we could be reputable, that was fine - Mr. Hon recalled.
To “maintain the profession”, for nearly 10 years of production, Mr. Hon still maintained sea travel. The products caught after each trip were carefully selected by his family to be processed into fish sauce and shrimp paste. At first, the products were mainly sold to local people. Later, through acquaintances, Ms. Hang connected with a famous shop specializing in producing and trading braised meat with shrimp paste in Hanoi and received regular orders. Therefore, the products later spread to many other provinces and cities in the country… From the success achieved, 2 years ago, when Nghi Thuy ward had a policy to build OCOP products as tourism products, his family boldly registered again. Sharing about this, Ms. Hang said: Many people do not want to do OCOP because the implementation process is very complicated, from procedures, paperwork and having to go through many product testing and evaluation processes. But my family is different, I think, this is an opportunity to increase the value of the product for the family business brand. We do it for real, the product is real, the quality is real, there is nothing to be afraid of.
Since Hang Hon brand products were recognized as OCOP products in 2021, the couple has also noticed many changes. Regarding the production process, the traditional formula is still maintained, but other stages from packaging to bringing products to consumers are more carefully and invested in. Previously, business was mainly through word of mouth, through regular customers, but now during the tourist season, the couple has been given the opportunity by the government and the town to open a booth right on Binh Minh Street to introduce their products.
In addition to direct sales, customers can also order through online sales channels, check the quality, and trace the origin via QR codes. The happiest thing is that although her house is in a small alley, with inconvenient traffic conditions, since Nghi Thuy fishing village, where she lives, became a tourist destination, many visitors have come to her house to see the production process and place orders on the spot, with annual sales reaching billions of dong... Changing careers is also considered by her grandparents to be the right direction, because it not only helps her family stabilize their economy, but also provides conditions for their children to study. Their two other children are also following the family profession and have opened more production workshops...
The Resolution of the 6th Congress of the Party Committee of Cua Lo Town, term 2020 - 2025, sets the goal of developing the town comprehensively, firmly, civilizedly, and modernly, together with Vinh city, becoming a key economic growth pole of the province. On June 14, 2021, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee issued Resolution No. 01-NQ/TU on "Building and developing Cua Lo Town to 2025 and the following years" with the key goal of developing Cua Lo Town rapidly and sustainably, together with Vinh city, becoming a growth engine, an innovation and creativity center of Nghe An province and the North Central region.
To realize the above objectives, Cua Lo town has identified 4 key economic spearheads. In addition to developing the tourism economy, there are also seaport economy; fisheries economy and fisheries logistics; agricultural economy... To complete these tasks, Cua Lo directs to improve the exploitation and fishing capacity of coastal people, restore traditional occupations. At the same time, promote clean, organic production with high economic value to serve tourism through linking with businesses and households for production...
As a coastal town, Cua Lo's marine economy also has its own colors. Many people have determined that in order to develop a sustainable economy, they must be attached to the sea, and develop the economy associated with the marine industry. The Hai Hoa fish sauce barrel house model that has just come into operation of Mr. Le Tuan Quynh in Block 3, Nghi Hoa Ward is one of them. Previously, this model of producing fish sauce in barrels had developed and become a unique cultural feature in Phu Quoc.
Mr. Le Tuan Quynh himself spent 8 years working abroad in Korea and during his time working abroad, he always hoped that after returning home, he would be able to apply many advances in science and industry to the production of traditional crafts in his hometown. Later, when he returned home, as a young party member, he was elected as the village chief, Secretary of the Youth Union and later Head of the Front Work Committee of the bloc. He always identified his important task in propagating the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws to the people, and at the same time, directly mobilizing the people to actively work, produce and develop the economy.
Personally, Mr. Quynh, to realize this policy, he pioneered in Phu Quoc to learn the traditional fish sauce production model in wooden barrels and then returned to Nghi Hoa to invest nearly 6 billion VND to build his own production workshop. His traditional fish sauce barrel products both inherit Phu Quoc's own method and have the advantage of using fresh anchovies caught in Cua Lo sea as raw materials. Therefore, after the finished product, the fish sauce is guaranteed to be completely natural, retaining the natural vitamin content, amino acids that are beneficial to health...
As a coastal resident, attached to the coastal town, the family of Mr. Ho Dinh Ha - owner of Ngoc Vinh seafood restaurant in Nghi Huong ward (Cua Lo town) always determines the family's goal to "live and do business for tourism and persevere with the tourism development policy of Cua Lo". This man over 50 years old also said that his family of 4 brothers used to live off a food stall of his parents near the beach. The process of growing up of the 4 brothers also witnessed the development of the coastal town, from a primitive, deserted beach to a famous tourist destination on the national tourism map. Living off the sea, he started by taking pictures for tourists, working for hire, and later opened a seafood restaurant on Cua Lo beach.
During the operation, the most difficult thing was probably when Cua Lo town proposed to dismantle more than 200 beach business kiosks on the East side of Binh Minh Street, which had been associated with Cua Lo people for nearly 20 years. However, after understanding the policy and seeing the great purpose of this decision, he was one of the first people to support and carry out the demolition. During this process, his family both dismantled and continued to borrow nearly 10 billion VND to invest in building a spacious and modern Ngoc Vinh restaurant system right next to the beach for business. Along with him, his brothers and sisters in the family also invested in a chain of adjacent restaurants and hotels with a scale and appearance completely different from the previous makeshift and shabby image.
Currently, with this model, instead of only being able to serve individual groups of guests, with a scale of only a few dozen tables as before, Mr. Vinh's restaurant can organize many large events, with a modern VIP room system. Guests coming to the restaurant, in addition to traditional regulars, also include many groups from many other provinces and cities through the connection of tours and tourist routes. Talking about this change, Mr. Ho Dinh Ha also said: For me, Cua Lo is not only the place where we were born, but this land also nourishes my family, helping us to be successful as we are today. That is why I believe in Cua Lo and believe in the policy that Cua Lo is implementing, aiming at the goal of long-term development, making Cua Lo one of the beautiful beaches of the North Central region and the whole country.
